Montgomery County Community College to install solar panels at Blue Bell campus

WHITPAIN — Montgomery County Community College appears to be practicing what it preaches — or teaches for that matter.

In an effort to promote the very same green technology taught in the classroom, 44 solar panels are set to be installed on its Blue Bell campus near the school’s Advanced Technology Center by October.

Whitpain Township Engineer Jim Blanch said the project comes from the school’s desire to teach renewable energy and set a good example for its students by promoting green technology.

The panels will be installed 500 feet from the intersection of Morris Road and Route 202 at the ATC parking lot, he said. That same parking lot also features electric vehicle charging stations, and the plan is to convert the stations to allow the batteries to be charged by the solar panels.

Thomas Freitag, vice president for finance and administration at MCCC, said the project is part of a larger $4 million project with Siemens.

The original plan, Blanch said, was to install 22-feet-high wind turbines in addition to the solar panels, but that was quickly nixed.

Freitag said MCCC officials went before the township’s planning commission, which was supportive of the project because its members knew it was a demo project and wouldn’t be an eyesore. However, they sided with some residents who had concerns about the turbines.

“Residents didn’t like the turbines,” Blanch said, adding they had concerns about the vibrations, noise and the general change in aesthetics to the area.

Next to the panels, he said, will be real-time displays, allowing students to see how much energy the panels are producing.

Each solar panel will produce 285 watts of energy for a combined 12,540 watts. To put that in perspective, the average light bulb produces about 120 watts, Blanch said.

“It’s a demo project,” he said. “The panels will not power major parts of the facility.”

The project is being fully funded through grant money, he said, and the college is working with Siemens to install the panels.

The project, he said, has the full support of the township.

“We’re happy to see they’re working at alternative energy methods. It’s exciting to see these proposals coming through. It’s nice to see new sustainable technology being used. It’s a good example for students. Hopefully they’ll go on to study (similar technologies).”

For Freitag, the project is part of a bigger agenda by the school.

“We’re very excited,” he said. “It fits very nicely with our overall commitment to the environment. It fits with the theme we have put together with the green lot adjacent to the ATC and it tells a good story to students, visitors and faculty and staff as well. It says something about the college.”